Just Too Much
by FiveSecondsOfCrazy
Summary: Astoria Malfoy thought she could be a perfect mother even with Draco's long hours, but with such a fussy son who only responsed to his father, her mind begins to unravel. Written for the Controversial Challenge by OCDdegrassi


Written for the Controversial Challenge by OCDdegrassi.

Draco Malfoy was happy to be married to such a wonderful woman and even happier that she'd given him a son, but his frequent trips meant he hardly got to spend any time at home Although he knew his wife was frustrated to spend so much time alone with Scorpius, she'd reassured him time and time again that she could handle it and that there was absolutely no reason for him to find a different job that would allow him to be home more often.

"We'll be a perfect family," Astoria said as she held their newborn baby in her arms at St. Mungo's.

"Perfect," Draco replied as he bent down to kiss the top of her head.

"Mr. Malfoy?"

Both Draco and Astoria looked up at the Healer standing in the doorway. "There's someone at the front desk to see you."

As he straightened, Draco asked, "Did you get a name?"

"Percy Weasley," she replied. "He said it was important."

"It better be," Draco growled under his breath as she left. He looked down helplessly at his wife and new baby.

"Go," Astoria said. "It's important."

"Thank you for being so understanding," he sighed in relief. "It's most likely about the new trade agreement Malfoy Industries is trying to acquire."

But as he walked out of the room, Draco failed to see the already strained smile slip from Astoria's face. She shifted her arms, gazing down at Scorpius. "It's always important."

...

Astoria was drowning. Her perfect little child had the strongest lungs in the world, muggle or wizard. Draco was always able to put their little baby to rest and keep him quiet for hours... when he was home.

"It's fine," she'd say whenever he apologized for being gone so much. "I know you'd rather be here."

Except she wasn't sure that was true.

Astoria was exhausted. "Why don't you sleep?" she asked Scorpius in desperation. He gave her no answer but another wail of discontent.

Her mother was no help, nor her sister or Narcissa. Astoria Malfoy was completely alone when her husband was gone, completely at the mercy of her child's needy, loud behavior. With Draco gone for weeks at a time, she sometimes went days on less than three hours of sleep. Scorpius didn't seem to suffer, but he slept for one purpose: to recharge for another crying session, which required only three or four hours. Astoria, on the other hand, used almost every moment he was quiet to do housework or eat. When she and Draco had gotten married, she'd romanticized that she could get by with little house elf help, so they only had one. Findle was a young house elf and just as frightened by Scorpius' routine as Astoria; he did little more than cook and clean, which usually happened only when he was specifically assigned tasks.

Finally, Astoria's brain was so sleep-deprived and destructive that she couldn't take it anymore. Even in the silence, she had wails resonating through her head like bludgers, leaving her even worse off. "Stop it," she pleaded to the baby. "Stop crying!" Her yells went unnoticed by the infant, who began to cry louder. "Just stop," she said again, feeling the hopelessness welling up inside her. Again, the volume increased.

She picked up her son, but he didn't react to her touch, just as he never did. "Stop," she commanded as her pitch went higher. Scorpius had to stop crying; Astoria would go insane if he didn't. "Stop!" In her confusion and rage, she began to shake him. Part of her brain said to quit immediately and never do it again. This was only going to hurt him, but the movement felt so good. Astoria had finally found an outlet for her anger, nevermind how scewed it was.

Findle ran up behind her and latched on to her arm. "Mistress must stop shaking!" the house elf cried. "The little master is still crying, and Mistress is not helping."

"Leave me alone!" she cried, pausing her shaking long enough to wheel on the house elf. "Leave! Just go!" Without realizing what she was doing, Astoria began to shake again.

Findle looked at her frantically for a moment before Disapparating.

Draco was sitting in a conference in Paris feeling very bored and frustrated by thick accents when a house elf Apparated on the table in front of him. "Findle?" he asked in surprise.

"Master must come quickly," the house elf shrieked. "Mistress needs assistant much quickly now!"

He didn't even dwell on the elf's grammar, although he normally would have corrected it. Nor did he excuse himself from the meeting before Apparating back to his house. He was in his hallway and could hear his wife's voice in the nursery.

"Stop crying. I said to stop!"

"Astoria!"

She froze upon hearing her husband's voice. Slowly she looked down at her arms as he took Scorpius out of them.

"I'm going to take him to St. Mungo's." Draco was talking to her, but Astoria didn't seem to understand. He left, seeming not to care that Astoria was still standing in the middle of the room, vaguely attempting to make sense of his words.

As though in a daze, she looked around. When her eyes landed on the crib, her lips began to quiver. "What have I done?" she asked herself, sinking to her knees as she started to cry. Her firstborn child might be seriously injured, and it was entirely her own fault. She stayed like that for a long time, not keeping track, before strong arms wrapped around her from behind.

Astoria turned her head to look into her husband's eyes. "I'm a horrible mother," she whispered.

Draco shook his head and held her tighter. "You made a mistake," he said softly, "but Scorpius is fine. They just want to keep him in the hospital overnight to double-check. He'll be perfectly all right."

Astoria slowly moved her head from side to side. "What if- What if I do it again?"

He shifted his arms so that she was facing him. "You won't," he promised. "I shouldn't have left you alone so long when I know he's so fussy. This is just as much my fault as it is yours."

She reached up to wipe the tears out of her eyes. "What now?" she asked.

"I don't know," he replied. "I suppose we can find you a quick-acting calming potion to keep on hand in case you get frustrated again, but I'm putting my foot down. I own the company, so why do I have to listen to other people about what hours I work? From now on, I'll be here as often as you need me. We'll fix this."

Astoria slowly smiled. "We'll be a perfect family."


End file.
